Ephalon - Triumvirate
Chapter 1 - Desperation
Ephalon - Fate Weavers
Chapter 1 - A meeting of the minds
"Thirty years ago, I lost the love of my life. I've never accepted his 'death'. I wasn't even able to give him a proper burial, since he... he was just gone, taken from existence. His sacrifice allowed Ephalon to live on, giving us a future. He is a true unsung hero," a woman said contemplatively whilst sitting at a bar drinking away her sorrows. A Cenebrian tavern lord sporting two small horns jutting from his forehead along with a scruffy outfit stood opposite where she sat. He had initially asked the woman what had brought her here. Her sad, thoughtful reply wasn't what he had expected, and truthfully, he didn't understand any of it either.
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"So... why are you here again? What does any of what you just said have to do with your presence in Caldrigo?" he retorted. Caldrigo, the capital city of the Ligan region, the homeland of the Cenebrian race. Usually, humans dared not visit this place as the Cenebrian inhabitants generally disliked them. Even so, the tavern owner thought it was rather amusing to find one in his establishment.
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Selene Arramore, a descendant of the holy dragon Empress, Celestus Arramore, had chosen to enter the city in human form instead of her usual black and blue draconic one. She'd decided to do so as the presence of a dragon in the Caldrigo would no doubt have caused more alarm than that of a mere human. Slowly Selene stood up from her barstool allowing the tavern owner to take in her appearance: black hair adorned her scalp, white skin covered her body, green-eyes gazed forth from her face and enveloping her were some loose-fitting parts of padded leather armour. Selene wasn't sure if she should laugh or be mad at the man, and after giving it slightly more than a moment's thought, the choice was made to reply calmly.
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"I'm here to meet Daniel, that is all," she said. The tavern lord nodded in a moment of revelation, finally understanding her purpose here.
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"Why didn't you just say that right away? He's further up ahead in town," he replied, completely missing her earlier point. Selene shook her head, already knowing full well where to go. To her, this man was obviously quite dense and honestly, she'd had enough of being in his presence.
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"Thanks... I'll go there right now," she replied whilst rolling her eyes, after which she deftly put on her black cloak immediately leaving the tavern and stepping into the streets of Caldrigo.
The city was made almost entirely out of obmidian, a black volcanic stone acquired from the Moridian mines near Mount Arramore off to the northeast. Caldrigo was circular in construction having multiple rings of tall guard walls going in an outward fashion. They all stood at roughly forty persons high and in the centre of it all was the Colosseum, a massive structure where those who wanted the right to leadership could challenge the current Grandmaster. However, the rite of leadership challenge had not been invoked throughout the past eighty years, ever since Maeyl had come to power. He was a fearsome leader, known primarily for his shadowstep technique, which effectively allowed him to move around the battlefield at his leisure. This ability gave him an unparalleled advantage in combat.
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A blackened mountain range known as the Lyferene Wreath surrounded the Ligan region. The strange stones atop this mountain absorbed sunlight, in turn allowing Cenebrians to be able to walk outside during the day as well as keeping the area darkened perpetually.
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The city had fifteen rows of guard walls with the sixteenth currently under construction. The space in between the rows of walls was where everyone lived, and most of the cityscape was covered in ghetto or slum-like residences. The people were not being taken care of by the 'government'. It was all a farce which had sadly become the norm and thus accepted throughout the many centuries that Caldrigo existed. Everyone had to fend for themselves within the few laws that were present. The city guard was always there, peering down into the streets, ever vigilant of 'problems', all too eager to eradicate them. This environment left the populace hardened and in a constant state of fear, those who remained in the city either adapted to this lifestyle or died young.
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Three large open corridors going straight through all the wall rings that comprised the city allowed traversal from outside Caldrigo into its centre. Each one of the passages had a simple designation representing their position, north, west and east. Selene was currently on her way to the western corridor to then head towards the Colosseum that was where she'd find the grand library, a building housing an incredible array of books on the entire history of Ephalon. Her goal was to meet up with a certain Daniel, the city's top scholar, ambassador and former liaison to the Ancient race, a race which officially became extinct thirty years ago. From him, she'd hope to gain knowledge of the location of one of the Ancient's Forbidden books.
Selene made it a point to avoid as much direct eye contact as possible keeping her head down as best she could. The city was known for its pickpockets who were always more than happy to relieve people of their burdens. Luckily, all her years of travelling throughout Ephalon had given her a keen eye for spotting them. The city streets became increasingly busier the closer she got to the west corridor. This confluence was unsurprising since it was one of three main entrances deeper into the city or anywhere beyond.
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Cenebrians primarily inhabited Caldrigo, and beside them, mostly hybrids hid amongst the crowds, especially those without overly prominent features were able to blend in rather well with the citizenry. Cenebrians as a race mainly had the following traits in common: a humanoid appearance with two horns on their forehead, pale coloured skin tones, thin bodies and slightly less common among them were those with prehensile tails.
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Selene finally arrived at the corridor and peered down along its length towards the Colosseum in the city centre. She had seven more ring walls to walk past before reaching it. Along the way, a small group of children approached her. They all huddled around the disguised dragoness calling out to her in their native language of Shay-ling, but Selene did not understand what they were saying, given she only had limited knowledge of their tongue. A few of them started pointing towards a particular section in between two of the ring walls, coaxing her to follow. Selene had no reason to trust them, even so, she decided to pursue the little ones curious as to what it was they wanted to show.
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The ring walls' interiors housed a variety of establishments; however, there were also many constructions built up against the side of them. Many of these were made out of local brown coloured stone found beyond the outer city walls, whereas most of the ghetto areas were built up with tents and makeshift wooden shacks. Selene was being led to a small wooden hut and within sat an older woman with cloven feet, who upon sensing her presence reached out.
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"Come inside my dear. It's good that you came. You're another confirmation that my farsight has yet to fail me, even though my eyes have. Please come closer I need to feel you," the old woman pleaded. Selene stepped inside lowering her cowl kneeling down close in front of the old lady. Her hands reached forward and began to feel all over Selene's human face picking up on every little bump and blemish.
"Yes, it is you who I have seen in my visions. You've taken a great risk coming here, many would see you dead if they knew the truth," the old woman said softly. Selene had no idea who this person was, all she could surmise so far was that she seemed to have similarities to an old friend named Kerragan, a Cenebrian shaman who she'd lost contact with many years ago.
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"You have questions, but there is no time for answers. I must relay a message, a warning to you before you venture to the scholar." Selene found the extent of what this person knew about her mission in Caldrigo rather unsettling; nevertheless, she allowed the old lady to tell her little story for now.
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"Be wary of what you plan to do. The wheel of time moves slowly now, but if you choose to venture further down your current path, be warned that not even time itself will be able to keep up with events that will follow." that was all the woman said before the children came in to pull Selene outside forcefully. The dragon in disguise was more than a little reluctant towards the children's plan, ever so eager to hear more of what this woman had to say. After being dragged out the tent and released from the children's grasp, she immediately stepped back inside the wooden shack craving answers from the seer, however, upon re-entering the tent the seer had vanished leaving no trace of her presence. A quick search around the room revealed nothing, prompting Selene to rush outside to locate the children but even they were no longer in sight, it was as though none of them had ever existed. Running around the city to try and find them would not be wise as it would attract too much attention, so, for now, she decided to let her odd experience remain just that, committing it to memory for a later time.
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Thankfully, she encountered no more disturbances on route to the central structure. The library she sought was not directly attached to the Colosseum. Instead, it was part of the first ring wall, and it was relatively easy to spot as it housed a turret which towered above everything else. The library stood in the wall section between the west and north corridors.
Selene finally arrived at the thick wooden doors of the library; however, three sizable guards fully clad in plate mail armour and wielding halberds barred her access upon approach.
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"The library is off limits to citizens, move along," the middle guard stated flatly. Selene pulled her cowl back revealing her human appearance, which instantly made the two outer guards point their weapons in her direction.
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"I seek an audience with Daniel, please tell him I am a messenger of the Arramore family," she said authoritatively. The guards all looked at each other unsure of how to proceed as they'd not heard that name spoken in a very long time.
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"Is this some kind of joke? Celestus Arramore has been dead for almost a hundred years, who are you to presume her name?" the middle guard replied discourteously. Selene wasn't quite ready to reveal her true self just yet choosing to take on an aggressive negotiation stance instead.
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"I will speak no further until I have an audience with Daniel." a small group of citizens had begun to gather around making quite the scene, most of which were in shock at the presence of a human so deep inside the city walls. The guards were at a loss and huddled around for a moment discussing how to proceed. Ultimately the middle guard went inside leaving the other two with their weapons still drawn at Selene. The crowd kept increasing in size making the guards act out, pointing their spears at them whilst instructing everyone to back off.
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The doors then suddenly flung open as a tall, white-haired, grey-skinned man dressed in regal clothing stepped forward. His yellow piercing eyes darted around the crowd assessing the situation. The man then turned his focus to Selene scrutinising her. Initially, his expression was that of annoyance from being disturbed, however, upon closer inspection of the potential company he was to have, his demeanour changed and a sly grin appeared on his lips. Before he addressed his guest, his gaze once more turned to the crowd.
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"The show is over, leave now," he stated in an eloquent tone, evoking an immediate response. Everyone quickly returned to their activities as though nothing had happened. He then pointed at Selene.
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"You, messenger, come with me. No doubt we have much to discuss." his tone had shifted becoming more wily and excited.
Selene without a further ado followed him inside scrupulously inspecting his attire. He wore a beautiful, dark blue silken shirt and pants. A regal patterning and Shay-ling scripture entirely covered both articles of clothing, not to mention he also had a white cape delicately flowing behind him which had a fascinating emblem on it, a particular symbol containing aspects of all three of the progenitor cultures. For Selene, it brought up familiar images of her past from whenever her mother had dealings with ambassadors of the other races. Together they walked through a grand open hall eventually reaching a flight of stairs at the far end, which they slowly ascended.
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"It has been many years since I've received an audience from the draconic society. I thought there was no longer a consensus among you to elicit such a visitation," the man stated with an alluring and refined tone.
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"There isn't. I don't represent the community as a whole, I've come here seeking you specifically," Selene replied. The man suddenly halted all movement, contemplating her response.
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"Interesting. Even though I've never met you, you seem to be well aware of who I am. Therefore, you have me at a disadvantage madam. Would you be so kind as to reveal your full name to me?" he asked, after which they continued to walk further along until they reached the top of the first set of stairs. There was a second set which led into the library proper.
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"A scholar of your renown is unmistakable, Daniel. Whereas my identity has been all but lost to history, it seems. I am Selene Arramore, daughter of Celestus," she stated with pride in her voice. Daniel remained quiet for a moment unsure if he should believe her claim. He huffed out at her, subsequently chuckling for a short moment.
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"I see. I guess I am in the company of former royalty then, that is if I choose to believe what you say, however, let me indulge you for now, so we do not argue about something so frivolous. Please follow me into the library. There we shall talk about why you are here." Daniel promptly led her into the library which seemingly filled the entire interior of the city wall section they stood within.
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From out of the rows of ceiling-high bookcases stepped a curious, feminine figure dressed in clothing one might consider even more eloquent than Daniel's. She had an olive-green dress embroidered with an incredibly detailed floral pattern. At the chest, it had a v-cut, with a row of fastenings going down along her front and then off to the side to where the dress had a cut along its entire length, this allowed her leg to step in and out of the suit freely. Two boots of the same colour as her dress covered her feet and lower legs. Around her neck, she had a single large section of hardened leather, which flowed into two sharp-edged yellow shoulder-pads. The woman had long, brown, flowing hair, a tanned skin tone, green coloured lips and a pair of sharp, orange eyes with black slits in them. Arguably the most exciting part of her attire was the inclusion of what seemed to be bone-like claws covering her fingers or more accurately they appeared to be her fingers.
"Who is she?" the mystery woman asked with an indignant tone. Daniel stepped to the side allowing the two females to lock eyes. Selene was not enamoured by this lady in the least. She also sensed a strangely familiar aura from her.
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"Allow me to introduce you to my assistant... Reina Thole-Set and please excuse her mannerisms, she doesn't socialise very often. Reina, this is Selene Arramore, no doubt you've heard of her as she's the daughter of Celestus." Reina did not respond. Instead, she remained silent while clenching her fists, knowing full well who this was.
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"A pleasure," Selene replied indifferently. Daniel sighed and snapped his fingers, moments later a horse almost entirely made out of blue fire appeared, swiftly clip-clopping up to them. Its sudden appearance caught Selene by surprise, even more so when she recognised it.
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"I knew it, somehow I suspected it all along, but it was you all those years ago. You were the one that visited Sturmvere to investigate the Rift." Selene stated once again catching Daniel by surprise. He was genuinely left wondering how she could even know such a thing.
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"First, let me introduce Arlos my loyal, nightmare steed. I have to admit you continue to intrigue me, Selene. Again, I'm somewhat at a loss as I've never met someone who apparently knows more about me than I do about them. I usually find myself being the one telling tales about everyone else. Come, come, let us sit down and discuss your real purpose for being here. Reina, be a dear and bring us some of my favourite black tea." his assistant bowed promptly leaving to fetch the tea, although not before giving Selene a dirty look.
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Daniel and his guest ventured further into the library passing countless stacks of books, most of which Selene had never even heard of. She couldn't help but look back over her shoulder keeping a close eye on Arlos who followed behind. The disguised dragoness could not understand why the horse's fire did not affect a single thing around it. Daniel grinned slightly as he quickly picked up on her wonderment.
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"Arlos' fire burns only that which it chooses to, which includes what I wish him to incinerate," Daniel said. Selene found herself somewhat entranced by the creature. Its appearance slightly ghostly and undeniably beautiful was impressive to say the least. It didn't take long for them to arrive at a crescent-shaped table with five intricately designed regal chairs along its broader edge.
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"Please take a seat and let us start this conversation you've wished so desperately to engage in."
Selene took a seat a few chairs away from Daniel remaining quiet at first as she tried to find the best way to ask her questions; however, before getting to them, she was curious about something else.
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"Daniel, because you are well travelled and versed, I have to ask, are you aware of what happened thirty years ago?" Daniel silently nodded at her before she followed up with another question.
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"Do you know all the details of the 'event'?" The Cenebrian gently scratched his chin requiring a moment to recall what had transpired precisely.
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"As you might imagine, I've seen and experienced thousands upon thousands of events and lives. Some more meaningful than others and some even of the level that one might call them direct influences on fate itself. We are both intelligent people, so I do not believe the use of obfuscation or trickery is needed and to that end, I am confident that you speak of the fall of Lucenbris. A great triumph indeed. I am sure you are proud of your involvement in such a daring feat." Daniel was snide in his remark knowing full well she wasn't directly involved as her name had never once come up with all his sources. Selene brushed it off not caring about his stance on the matter.
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"Your intelligence fails you, Daniel, you're revealing more to me than you might think," she replied astutely. He was most displeased with her retort as being outwitted was not something Daniel enjoyed.
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"Let us cut to the chase here Daniel. I seek one of the Forbidden books of the Ancients. I know there are still a few in existence and if anyone were to know where one might be, it would be you." Daniel's demeanour shifted significantly after her question, luckily for him Reina just so happened to walk in with the requested tea quickly placing a cup near him and his guest. The momentary distraction and rejuvenating properties of the liquid put Daniel at ease once more. Reina left the immediate area but remained close enough and out of sight to be able to eavesdrop on the conversation.
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"Why would you want such a thing? Surely you know how dangerous such a book is." the Cenebrian asked calmly.
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"My reasons will remain my own, and I'm well aware of the power which lies within," she replied deflecting his question. Daniel took another sip of his black tea revelling in its slightly bitter taste.
"I see, you're quite adamant about acquiring the book. Even if I knew of its location, why would I tell you exactly?" Daniel replied defiantly. Selene suddenly stood up and pointed her finger at him.
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"So you do know the location of one! Where is it?" she said trying her hand at intimidating the Cenebrian; however, it didn't faze him in the least, merely prompting him to take another sip of his tea.
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"You do realise you're in a city filled with guards and Cenebrians who wouldn't be too pleased if they knew who you really were, correct? Unless I will it otherwise, you won't be leaving, princess." Selene cursed him under her breath as she was now the one that was outwitted. The dragoness slowly returned to her chair, thoroughly not enjoying feeling so powerless.
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"I understand your plight. In simple terms, you seek a rare, powerful object and because of its nature, you believe I am in either possession of one or know of one's location. I can assure you I do not have one, even among these thousands of books, those Ancient scripts have always eluded me. So, to that end, I must sadly disappoint you, and unless you have other business, you'd like to discuss. I believe the time has come for you leave." Selene had no choice but to trust his words and even if she didn't, he was right. There was no possible way she could steal it and get out alive.
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"Please... if you ever do find one. I beg of you let me know," Selene said pleadingly. Daniel put a hand on his forehead shaking his head before letting out a hefty sigh.
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"You disappoint me, Selene. It is unbecoming of a dragon to plead for anything. Let alone an heir to the throne. I shall allow you to leave the city humiliated by your choice words. Remember how this conversation went down as this was of your own volition," he said plainly. Selene grew frustrated beyond measure, unable to hide any of her emotions, which were beaming out through her face. Before standing up, she took a moment to calm herself quickly gulping down her drink in one go. Admittedly, the tea even when slightly cooled tasted delicious.
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"Then I will thank you for allowing me to speak with you. Good day, Daniel, perhaps we'll meet again," she replied watching him give her a small nod before he gestured for Reina to come over to see their quest out.
"One last thing before you leave, Selene. I'd like to mention something to you, given as I rarely get to converse with outsiders of your standing. When considering we are all descendants of the first six, who do think created them?" Daniel asked with genuine intrigue. Selene looked back at him bewildered by this odd question, and as her reply, she merely wished him a good day once more finding no reason to indulge his inquiry. On the way out, neither of the two women said a word to each other, that was until Reina opened the front door.
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"You'll never amount to what Celestus had achieved. You are but a grain of sand in the Eastern Desert compared to her might and authority," Reina discouragingly remarked as she watched Selene step outside. The dragon princess, now annoyed by Reina's petty words suddenly stopped a few steps from the main entrance. She turned around to peer directly at the nuisance. For a moment, Selene showed her real eyes to Reina. The assistant scowled back at her former guest slamming the door in anger. The guards were very much confused by what had just transpired, once again they were unsure if they should intervene or not, however, upon seeing Selene's eyes they immediately backed off.
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The dragon in disguise huffed, greatly angered by how things had gone as this was far from what she had hoped to achieve. She stomped her way out of the city, this time taking the northern corridor and not bothering to engage with anyone around, ignoring all who sought her attention. Once far enough outside the city limits and out of direct sight of onlookers, she removed her cloak and folded it up neatly, tying it off to function as a makeshift bag. Next, she undressed and began her reverse-transformation back into her original dragon form.
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Selene who still appeared human fell on all fours as her body slowly began to elongate, twisting and reshaping her insides into that of a full-on dragon. Thick dark blue claws burst forth from her hands and feet digging into the ground below. A massive long tail shot out above her rear, extending far behind her. Two beautiful wings then sprouted forth from her upper back, stretching wide to her sides. Finally, her body covered itself with thick plated scales, after which her head turned back into its regular shape, containing a lengthened yet slender maw filled with rows of sharp teeth and a crown of horns befitting a queen. Furthermore, spikes sprouted along her spine all the way up to the tip of her tail, which she promptly smashed hard onto the ground in a fit of pure frustration.
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The complete lack of progress on her guest for the Forbidden book had begun to take its toll on her sanity. She gathered up all her belongings placing them all in the cloak before jumping up into the air to flying towards the east, to Sundia.
Meanwhile, Reina and Daniel had been discussing their latest visitor and more specifically her request. Reina, for the most part, had a personal grievance with Selene, which Daniel did not care to listen to as he had a matter of his own to take care of. The scholar suddenly interrupted the ongoing discussion with his assistant.
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"Reina! Please continue with your research as I have an urgent matter to attend to." she was a little dumbstruck by the sudden break in their conversation, not used to this happening, it left her slightly confused while she walked away. Daniel made his way to a private chamber, which only he had access to. In the centre of the room was a small ring of stones filled with a strange black coloured liquid and on top of the water stood an old rickety wooden chair. Daniel lit up a wall sconce illuminating the room then locked the door behind him. He sat himself down on the chair closing his eyes concentrating hard on a particular image.
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"Can you hear me?" he said softly receiving no response. The water soon rose up into the air around him turning into floating droplets. The globules began to vibrate becoming increasingly more unstable.
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"Can you hear me?" Daniel said once more, now louder in volume, and this time, he received an answer.
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"What is it, Daniel? What news do you have for me?" a sinister voice replied.
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"My Lord, I had an unusual visitor today, Selene Arramore. She came seeking one of the Forbidden books, but I do not know why," Daniel stated to the voice, who began to laugh back at him.
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"Excellent Daniel! This is good news. I shall take care of this personally. Hm, this means my plans might need to be sped up. Goodbye," the mysterious voice replied before falling silent. Daniel took a deep breath, slowly opening up his eyes. All the water around him had returned beneath the chair, and this strange method of communication had left the Cenebrian physically weakened. Daniel doubted if what he had done was wise. Regardless, he was under strict orders to report any and all questions pertaining to the Forbidden books directly to his 'master'.